"Music composition—you?" Mr. Ervin's first reaction was disbelief.
But then he suddenly remembered:
The reason his daughter had somehow been charmed away by this brat seemed to be because she had heard some "unprecedentedly wonderful music" from his mind.
And Seraphine's musical taste and expertise were naturally beyond doubt.
Li Wei probably really did understand music, and his skill was likely quite high.
"But a person's talent has limits."
"How many songs can you create by yourself? And how could a mere handful of good songs support such a large business? I advise you to be realistic."
"No, Mr. Ervin." Li Wei interrupted his doubts. "Whether this method will work or not, you can make your judgment after listening."
As he spoke, Blue Bird gave Seraphine a look:
"Seraphine, I'll leave it to you."
"Sure!" Seraphine jumped up eagerly.
With light little steps, she walked over to the piano nearby, skillfully tucked in her skirt, and sat upright before the keys.
Seraphine placed her hands on the keys and closed her eyes to compose herself.
Then, the music began.
Thump thump thump thump thump thump thump thump thump~
Her slender, pale fingers fluttered up and down like dancing butterflies.
Sweet, cheerful notes flowed from her fingertips, lingered in the air, gradually drifted into their ears, and captured the listeners' hearts.
At first, Mr. Ervin had been somewhat annoyed that Li Wei was treating his daughter like a music player.
But after hearing that beautiful melody played by Seraphine, he gradually forgot his frustration, forgot the business, and forgot everything else.
He was completely immersed in the music.
That warm, lively, gentle, affectionate rhythm deeply moved the heart.
That feeling did not come from any magic, but purely from the charm of the music itself.
Through the music, Mr. Ervin seemed to see a lively, spirited young girl. He saw the composer's fondness and admiration for her, as well as his beautiful hopes for love.
This was absolutely a wonderful piece!
In Piltover, Demacia, and Noxus's upper circles, it would definitely become immensely popular! It might even become an enduring classic, allowing its composer to be remembered for generations alongside the melody!
"Wh-what piece is this?" Mr. Ervin murmured.
"'Für Elise,'" Li Wei answered.
"I have quite a few piano pieces around this level. If you are willing, I can have Seraphine play them for you slowly. Of course, if you want songs in other styles, I have even more of those."
"As long as we release several hit songs every year, our Walkmans and music tapes will never lack buyers."
Li Wei was still pitching his music business.
But Mr. Ervin's expression suddenly changed.
One moment he turned red, the next green. No one knew what he was thinking.
Then they heard him ask:
"Who is Elise?"
"Huh?"
"Wasn't this song written by you for Elise? Then who is Elise? How many girls have you used this trick to seduce?"
Li Wei: "..."
"I'm not doing this business anymore—"
"Stay the hell away from my daughter!"
In the end, the deal was still made.
Because Li Wei explained that those songs were not written by him at all, but had been told to him by Janna.
He intended to explain it that way to the outside world in the future as well.
As for how Goddess Janna knew so many songs, and even knew gangster rap and heavy metal rock—don't ask. If you asked, the answer was simply that a goddess knew everything.
Mr. Ervin did not believe it at first, but after Li Wei and Seraphine performed excerpts from dozens of famous songs in different styles one after another, he had no choice but to believe.
Walkman technology ahead of its time, combined with countless masterpieces worthy of being passed down through the ages. With those, they could swallow up the entire massive cake, from music production, publishing, and distribution to the manufacture and sale of Walkmans and tapes.
In Li Wei's words:
"This is called targeting user pain points, finding leverage in a specialized field, using technological advantages to open up a new track, connecting the upstream and downstream industrial chains, achieving internal resource integration, and ultimately creating a positive-feedback ecosystem that breaks through users' mental barriers and delivers a dimensional strike against the market."
"Mr. Ervin, do you understand?"
Mr. Ervin understood.
To sum it up in one sentence:
This project could indeed make money. It could make a lot of money.
Did he want to do it? Of course he did. Who did not want to make money?
"Also, I said from the beginning that I could help Seraphine solve the problem of her talent going out of control."
"I am Goddess Janna's God Chosen. I have the ability to teach Seraphine how to control her magic. I can even train her into a powerful mage."
At that point, Mrs. Ervin could no longer sit still.
Over the past few years, Seraphine's talent had continued to grow stronger, and the pain caused by it going out of control had become increasingly unbearable.
Watching her daughter suffer whenever her abilities spiraled out of control, she had long been unable to bear it as a mother.
To solve Seraphine's problem, Mrs. Ervin had even planned to sell the family factory to buy a Natural Hextech Gem that was priceless and unavailable on the market.
Now, Li Wei alone could solve the problem.
Not only could he spare their daughter from suffering, he was even throwing in a free course in professional mage training. If she succeeded in her studies, the Erwin family might gain an extraordinarily capable transcendent mage!
"Old man, what are you waiting for?!"
Mrs. Ervin was already urging her husband to make a decision, none too kindly.
"But..." Mr. Ervin still hesitated.
He looked at Li Wei, then at Seraphine, his expression complicated and strange. No one knew what he was hesitating over.
"But our daughter seems to be with..." Mr. Ervin quietly spoke to his wife.
"That's still better than watching her suffer herself to death!" Mrs. Ervin snapped, then secretly glanced at Li Wei. "Besides, even if that really is the case..."
"With the brat's current circumstances, our daughter would not be getting the short end of the stick."
"What nonsense. How would she not be getting the short end of the stick? That little bastard was still a filthy wage slave yesterday—no, absolutely not!"
"Then sell the factory and buy our daughter a Natural Hextech Crystal! You stingy old bastard!"
"I..."
Li Wei: "???"
Janna waited at the side for a long while before finally delivering the latest news to him:
"We agree to this project."
"Once we meet that Professor Viktor and review all the technical documents for the Walkman project, we can discuss signing the contract."
Mr. Ervin grunted unwillingly.
"That's wonderful." Li Wei had Azure Finch Janna nod to him in greeting. "I hope we will have a pleasant partnership in the future, Mr. Ervin."
"However, before that, I have some conditions."
"What conditions?" Mr. Ervin frowned slightly.
He disliked this kind of business practice, where additional terms were only brought up at the very end. It was not sincere.
"Please forgive me. I had to make you recognize the value of this project before you would agree to this condition."
"Oh?" His interest was piqued.
Then Li Wei said solemnly:
"My condition is—"
"Starting today, I want Zaunite Apprentices to receive the same treatment as Piltover workers."
"Y-you, what did you say?!"
Mr. Ervin could hardly believe his ears:
"Give Zaunite Apprentices treatment equal to Piltover citizens?"
What a joke!
Why did he hire Zaunite Apprentices?
Was it not because Zaunites were cheap?
Not only were they cheap, they were durable. Once they were used up, he could casually drive them back to Zaun and replace them with a new batch at any time.
In any case, there would never be a shortage of young Zaunites who wanted to come to Piltover to work.
"Have you gone mad?!" Mr. Ervin asked.
"I have not." Li Wei's tone was calm. "If you are hesitating because of the money, then please do not worry."
"The increased labor costs can all be deducted from the seventy percent dividend shares belonging to Professor Viktor and me."
Mr. Ervin fell silent.
Only then did he ask with a complicated expression, "Are you serious?"
"I am."
"Why?"
"Because Professor Viktor and I are both Zaunites."
Mr. Ervin: "."
After another long silence, he said:
"But some things cannot be done just because you are willing."
"Do you know what the other business owners will think of us if we do this? We are not the great Jayce Talis. If we recklessly break the rules and make everyone dislike us, then..."
"No. Absolutely not. This will not work!"
Mr. Ervin murmured with a sigh.
But Li Wei did not try to persuade him further. He merely said:
"Mr. Ervin, Goddess Janna told me that she saw you twenty years ago."
"You were still a Zaunite Apprentice then."
"She saw you hiding alone under the blankets because you could not scrape together enough money to treat your girlfriend's illness. You cried all night, wiped away your tears, then went smiling to the hospital to visit your girlfriend."
"I'm sorry..." Blue Bird looked at Mr. Ervin, then at his former girlfriend, now Mrs. Ervin. "Janna did not yet have the ability to help you back then."
"You..." Mr. Ervin's pupils shook.
"She was there... she was..."
The words caught in his throat. But tears quietly welled up despite his efforts to hold them back.
"Yes." Janna spoke.
In her own voice: "I was there, child."
Mr. Ervin stood there blankly for a long while. Then, as if possessed, he answered:
"I... I agree."
Before you continue